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Courting the White House: Don’t call it lobbying

Two groups have found ways to set up meetings with Cass Sunstein and Jack Lew. | AP Photo

In its first three years, the organization has worked with more than 200 administration officials, including Sunstein, head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs; Greg Nelson, deputy director of the Office of Public Engagement; and Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to Obama. The group holds from 20 to 30 events a month and is now operating in 45 cities. During the first six months of 2012, Business Forward expects to bring 2,000 people to Washington to meet with administration officials. Business Forward Executive Director Bert Kaufman said the group’s 2012 budget will be close to $2 million.

Several member company representatives said the group’s value is in the level of trust the principals have with administration officials who come to meetings, the intimacy of smaller events and introductions with Obama aides.

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CPP, a nonprofit whose members are prominent liberal groups, holds invitation-only meetings weekly at the Capital Hilton Hotel. They have been regularly attended by senior administration officials like Lew, Jarrett and others. President Obama himself “dropped by” a session in January and gave a nod to the group’s moniker in the closing line of his State of the Union address later that month.

Its founder, longtime Democratic operative Erik Smith, said Common Purpose serves as a convener for progressive organizations — not an amplifier for the White House or a back channel for lobbying.

“Common Purpose Project was founded to support the progressive movement, and our outreach efforts to the White House are designed to promote the progressive agenda,” said Smith, who also sits on Business Forward’s board. “When a legislative issue develops some urgency, we’re positioned to convene key progressive players to focus on that issue and invite the White House to participate in a dialogue.”

People who have attended meetings describe them as a cross between “office hours” for administration officials and a forum for progressive groups that are looking for additional ways to put their issues on the White House’s agenda.

Its critics — the most vocal is progressive blogger Jane Hamsher — have nicknamed it the Obama administration’s “veal pen” — a vehicle designed to keep outside groups on message and in line.

There’s no question that close ties to the Obama administration are a key feature of both groups’ organizers.

Business Forward’s Doyle served as senior policy adviser and deputy chief of staff to former Obama chief of staff Bill Daley when Daley worked in the Clinton administration. He is also married to Patti Solis Doyle, former campaign chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden in the 2008 presidential campaign.

OMG! The director of the office of Public Engagement is meeting with nongovernment groups! Shocking!

Effective government doesn't require our leaders to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to citizen groups. On the contrary: the best laws -- federal, state or local -- are informed by citizens and their legitimate concerns. President Obama has the right balance: keep the groups away from the White House and largely away from our president, but let their voices, information and concerns feed into the process through appropriate government offices and personnel.

It is apparent that Politico has decided they are supporting Romney this year, and has been so for over the past month. They have made a business decision that they wish to attract every wingnut to their site by writing one hit piece about the WH after another. They are beginning to make Fox News look fair and balanced.

He was accompanied by Antoinette C. Bush, a well-connected Washington lawyer who has represented companies like Viacom, Sony and News Corporation for 30 years. A friend of the president and a cousin of his close aide Valerie B. Jarrett.

…Although Mr. Obama has made a point of not accepting contributions from registered lobbyists, a review of campaign donations and White House visitor logs shows that special interests have had little trouble making themselves heard. Many of the president’s biggest donors, while not lobbyists, took lobbyists with them to the White House, while others performed essentially the same function on their visits.

Wasn't Candidate Obama who criticize lobbying firms in 2008? Didn't Candidate and President Obama blamed GW Bush for the massing lobbying going on? Wasn't Candidate Obama the one who said he wouldn't hire them? Mr. Abramoff was sent to jail for excessive Lobbying.

Of course liberals don't want to hear it. Of course liberals want to cover their eyes and ears. Of course liberals feel the attacks. Cuz it is fun when President Obama insults and harassesothers (Oh look how great the president is) but not fun when others show his double standards.

Look, I don't mind if he hires these rich, greedy, fat cats. I do mind him blaming others and demanding that others don't do it! That's called hypocrisy!

But whatever you call it, it involves the same thing - the most corrupt administration in the history of this country taking cash, political "donations" and favors from private parties and in return giving them taxpayer cash in the form of taxpayer-funded "loans" that do not have to be paid back, taxpayer-funded "grants" that will create no jobs or special favors paid for by the taxpayer.

Ever wonder why a trillion dollar so-called "stimulus" bill failed to stimulate the economy? It was never meant to. It was meant to be Obama's private slush fund. And that's the way he has used it.

But don't expect to read about it in the partisan media. They're busy actively campaigning for his re-election by carefully selecting or concocting stories that make his opponents look bad and totally ignoring the stories that reveal the failure, the corruption and the total incompetence of this marxist-based administration.

You trolls do know that the whole of the English speaking world can read this, right?

Hey intern, how many people played FoxFan before you? Are you FoxFan 7.0?

TeaParty flat Earthers are not a seperate party, they are the Republican base, so when you see TeaParty activist selling the crazy, you see TeaParty activists trying to bring down the RINO party.I think It is a very bad plan.

He already has a track record of using BILLIONS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS to repay his bundlers from the last election. This is part of his record, and those who bundle money for him in this election are looking forward to additional BILLIONS from the public treasury.

The stench of GREED hangs thick in the morning air around the White House. Obama is easily the most corrupt president in American history.

That is kind of how it works..... The Tea Party is apparently spreading into the Democrat party too, and they welcome a new convert, David Axelrod.

“The choice in this election is between an economy that produces a growing middle class and that gives people a chance to get ahead and their kids a chance to get ahead and an economy that continues down the road we’re on.” - David Axelrod, 04/15/12

Barack Obama - President of the United States during the slowest economic recovery in modern U.S. history.

Yes just call it "kinetic political activity involving monetary coercion " and the media will love you and you won't be a hypocrite cause you aren't Lobbying like the evil republicans. And don't worry about the North Carolina sexual harassment scandal, just call it a "kinetic pre-emptive sexual coercion outreach" and the media will love you and you won't be a hypocrite like those evil republicans that engage in "sexual harassment " and the media will love you because you are enlightened and will never call you on it.

This is what we all love about the unbiased fair press, but nothing is more glaring than their absolute blissful disinterest in " fast and furious" the scandal that is so deep and being covered up that when it finally does see the light of day it is going to ruin the "reputation" of all the major news departments for purposely being part of the cover up by not pursuing it in anything approaching the way they would/will when a republican is in the white house. Just as they would have torn Bush to shreds for calling Libya a "kinetic military activity" but not a war....

It was all OK when Republicans did it. Now it is a threat to national security. I wonder when all of that changed ?

No one said it was ok when Republicans did it - it's the fact that Obama is being a hypocrite. He'll give all these speeches about how bad it is but then he does the same thing but with a different name. Typical of the administration - nothing but smoke and mirrors.